Mazmur 126:2

126:2 At that time we laughed loudly

and shouted for joy. ¹ 

At that time the nations said, ² 

“The Lord has accomplished great things for these people.”

Yesaya 5:16

5:16 The Lord who commands armies will be exalted ³  when he punishes, ⁴ 

the sovereign God’s authority will be recognized when he judges. ⁵ 

Yehezkiel 20:14

20:14 I acted for the sake of my reputation, so that I would not be profaned before the nations in whose sight I had brought them out.

Yehezkiel 38:23

38:23 I will exalt and magnify myself; I will reveal myself before many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’

Yehezkiel 39:7

39:7 “‘I will make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; I will not let my holy name be profaned anymore. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. ⁶ 

Yehezkiel 39:27-28

39:27 When I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them from the countries of their enemies, I will magnify myself among them in the sight of many nations. 39:28 Then they will know that I am the Lord their God, because I sent them into exile among the nations, and then gathered them into their own land. I will not leave any of them in exile ⁷  any longer.

[126:2]  ¹ tn Heb “then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with a shout.”

[126:2]  ² tn Heb “they said among the nations.”

[5:16]  ³ tn Or “elevated”; TEV “the Lord Almighty shows his greatness.”

[5:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “by judgment/justice.” When God justly punishes the evildoers denounced in the preceding verses, he will be recognized as a mighty warrior.

[5:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “The holy God will be set apart by fairness.” In this context God’s holiness is his sovereign royal authority, which implies a commitment to justice (see the note on the phrase “the sovereign king of Israel” in 1:4). When God judges evildoers as they deserve, his sovereignty will be acknowledged.

[5:16]  sn The appearance of מִשְׁפָט (mishpat, “justice”) and צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah, “fairness”) here is rhetorically significant, when one recalls v. 7. There God denounces his people for failing to produce a society where “justice” and “fairness” are valued and maintained. God will judge his people for their failure, taking “justice” and “fairness” into his own hands.

[39:7]  ⁶ sn The basic sense of the word “holy” is “set apart from that which is commonplace, special, unique.” The Lord’s holiness is first and foremost his transcendent sovereignty as the ruler of the world. He is “set apart” from the world over which he rules. At the same time his holiness encompasses his moral authority, which derives from his royal position. As king he has the right to dictate to his subjects how they are to live; indeed his very own character sets the standard for proper behavior. This expression is a common title for the Lord in the book of Isaiah.

[39:28]  ⁷ tn Heb “there,” referring to the foreign nations to which they were exiled. The translation makes the referent clear.